


Day Off

by CaraAkame



Series: Where Life Has Led You [5]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-23 01:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8308120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraAkame/pseuds/CaraAkame
Summary: Al has a date, summer vacations of the university have started and Roy is on medical leave. So Ed decides to take a day off from the hospital and spend the day drooling over Roy's library. Among other things.





	1. Break A Leg

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my dears!  
> So, I saw that yodepalma of all people left Kudos on all of the works of this series and nearly squealed in class. (In case you don't know: yodepalma is the author of The Path of Flame, which is the best goddam crossover between FMA and HP that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Which hasn't been updated in a while, sadly. *hint hint*)  
> That has motivated me into writing another part for this series. It will have 2-3 Chapters, I think. I didn't have time to write more, yet, but I promise I will soon!  
> Thanks so much for all the praise, you guys are the best!  
> I hope you'll enjoy this chaotic, unbeta'd mess xD
> 
> EDIT: I say 2-3 chapters and post 5..... I have no impulse control

The phone rings. Roy recognizes this number, even though he’s never been called by it before. “ _Ed_?”, he says as soon as he picks up. It’s 9am at a Monday, which means Ed should be teaching. The only reason Roy’s home is because his last mission left him with a broken leg that was healed quickly enough by a sniggering Alphonse, but he was told to take the day off to recover anyway.

“Hey, Roy. I hope I didn’t wake you up. Sorry I haven’t called or anything after last time. I know it’s been a month, but I can’t take time off and I usually fall into bed as soon as I get home.”, Edwards voice sounds out of the earpiece. It sounds genuinely apologetic. Roy is extremely relieved. He thought maybe he’d done something wrong or off-putting, even though Maes assured him that Ed was probably the only person where ‘sorry I haven’t called, but I am so busy at work right now’ isn’t an excuse to let someone down easy, but a fact.

“That’s fine, Ed. Aren’t you supposed to be teaching right now? Also, I do wish you would have called at some point, so I didn’t have to worry I did something to scare you off.”, Roy says with a laugh that he hopes sounds sincere.

“No, you’re fine, Roy. I really _was_ extremely busy. I have fantastic news though! Summer vacation started today at the university. Which is why I’m calling now right after I slept in for once.”, Edward says, before continuing: “I hear you broke your leg.”

Chuckling, the General replies: “It seems I did. The doctor recommended I rest for a few days to recover. Seeing as my leg was perfectly fine after half an hour and the doctor was your brother, I’m going to assume he’s been scheming with Maes.”

“You’re right there. I was informed that I have to check up on his patient.”, Ed tells him after laughing quietly. Roy sends Alphonse a silent thank you, and responds: “I’d be delighted to have company. Not being at work is surprisingly dull.”

“I know the feeling. I feel like I have way too much free time all of a sudden. I’m guessing you’re not allowed out of the house?”

“Al hinted that I shouldn’t, due to my, and I quote, ‘ _extensive injuries_ ’. I’m pretty sure he meant I shouldn’t leave the house in case somebody saw me being perfectly fine, which is kind of obvious, but who knows how many people have done exactly that.”

“You have _no_  idea. Okay, so tell me your address and I’ll be over within the hour. Before you say anything, _yes_ , I’m bored.”

“You won’t hear me complaining. Okay, so I’m not far from Maes place, so you should find it quite easily…”

\-----

Feeling slightly awkward all of a sudden, Ed hesitates in knocking on the General’s door. What if the man expected something other than conversation? Didn’t going to somebody’s home mean that you wanted to do something that didn’t include talking all that much? Then again, Mustang had come to his home to make lunch on a whim, so he probably didn’t mean it like that either.

Steeling himself slightly, he knocks. The door opens to reveal Roy in civilian clothing, which shouldn’t effect Ed quite this much, but it does. Gray slacks and an unassuming white shirt should not look this good on anyone. Especially somebody who spends so much time behind a desk. Then again, the man had recently been on a mission that broke his leg, so he must get sent to the field more often than the other Generals.

“Ed! Wow, you got here fast.”, the man in question says, smiling brilliantly.

“Yeah, well, your place is between mine and Hughes’, funnily enough. I’ve actually walked past here nearly every Sunday for the past half year without realizing it.”, Ed replies. It’s true, when Roy told him the exact address, Ed had thought it sounded familiar. It wasn’t until he was walking past this house on his way to Mr. Hughes’ to follow Roy’s directions that he noticed.

“I see! I should have known, I’ve been to your place.”, the General says, before remembering that Ed is standing on the front porch with clouds threatening to burst any second over him, and saying: “Come in. I’m sorry, it’s a bit of a mess. You can imagine that my work doesn’t really give me a lot of time to tidy up.”

“That’s fine. You haven’t seen my office, it’s a _pigsty_.”, Ed replies, while walking through the door. It’s a large house for one person. The living room alone is as big as Ed’s lower floor. Ed and Al have enough money to afford a bigger place, but there wasn’t really much point to it, seeing as they’re never home. He adds: “Why is your house so _big_? For a man married to his work instead of a person, it seems a bit unnecessary.”

“You’re right. However, this place was the only one that had the right location. Only a few minutes to Maes’ and not much further to Central Command. There’s also a park close to here, as you probably know, which is always nice, and it’s not like I’m spending my money on anything else. The military pays State Alchemists very well, and being a General doubled that income. I honestly don’t know what to do with my money other than buy books I never get to read.”

“I bet the ladies like the fact that you have too much money.”, Ed says, hoping he doesn’t sound jealous.

“They do, however I have neither the time, nor the will to impress any ladies. The only person I _want_ to impress is somebody who has enough money themselves and doesn’t seem like the kind that swoons over jewelry.”, Roy says, making Ed blush slightly. He tries to hide his burning face by looking around the living room. There’s a large door on one side. It can’t be the kitchen or the hall, since those are openly visible from where he’s standing.

Seeing where Ed’s looking, Roy adds: “That door leads to my favorite room. Come on.”

Edward follows the older man through the door and stops in his tracks. He’s standing in a library that’s two stories high, crammed with books to a point where it looks unstable.

“I should have opened with this.”, the General continues after a few minutes of Ed staring around him silently, rousing him from his stupor.

“No. I don’t think you could have gotten me out of this room long enough to have a conversation.”, Edward replies, still staring at a particular shelf that looks like it’s holding some first editions.

“You’re probably right. I’m going to tear you away from them now, though. I _do_ want to talk to you properly. You can come by anytime to forage through here.”, Roy tells him.

\-----

Back in the living room – with the library door firmly shut to resist temptation – they sit across from each other on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

Roy’s unreasonably nervous. They are having a very interesting conversation about Xingan Alchehestry, nothing more.

“So basically, _qi_ is a sort of energy every living thing emits. It flows through the body, like blood, which helps Alchehestrists locate damage. We then use that flow of energy to hurry along the natural healing capabilities of the body. Which is why we can’t grow somebody's limb back. In the right circumstances, you can reattach something, but usually the residual tissue is too damaged to really do much. A severed leg doesn’t have an energy flow, so we can’t heal it up and then attach it. If the limb is sliced off cleanly, there’s a chance, but otherwise Automail is always the better option.”, Ed tells him.

Roy responds: “So _that_ ’s why Alphonse had to set my leg properly first. I wondered why I had to go through that unpleasant experience.”

“Yes. If he had just healed it up as is, it would have healed all wrong. Which is why learning Alchehestry requires a lot of medical knowledge. You can’t get your degree without it, otherwise people would increase the damage by accident.”, Ed replies.

A shudder goes through Roy at the thought of having to _re_ -break his leg. Once was enough,  _thank you very much_.

“That’s why you can help out at the Drop Off and feel like getting your MD would be easy. You already know everything about the human body.”, Roy says, suddenly understanding. While he’s thankful the Elrics were there to save his best friend, he had wondered why they let the untrained brother see to the worst injuries.

“Correct again. The MD also requires knowledge into medications and such, which is why it doesn’t just come with the Alchehestry PhD. Seeing as I also studied Chemistry and Biology extensively when I was researching a way to bring Mom back, I know quite a bit about that too. Basically the problem with the MD for me is that I have to sit through six exams. While none of them would be a particular challenge with the knowledge I already have, I have to take all of them. I can’t just take the last one and be done with it, or I’d already have it.”

“That’s why you have so many PhD’s isn’t it? Once you have the basic understanding of every field from other PhD’s, the rest is just fine tuning. Modern Alchemy, Foreign Alchemy, Xingan Alchehestry and Combat Alchemy are all just fields of Alchemy. You said Modern Alchemy takes a lot of elements from other places, so Foreign Alchemy is just an extension. And Combat Alchemy probably just uses Modern Alchemy in addition to Martial Arts. Alchehestry sounds like it’s completely different, though.”

“It is. And you’re right. Alchehestry was the hardest PhD by _far_. It uses a different source than any of the other countries. As you know we use tectonic energy and the Xingans use the flow of energy through the body and all living things. The system of PhD’s getting easier also applies to the languages. The languages all use a different base, but the system of learning a new language gets easier with every time. The Ancient languages are those bases. So in knowing the modern languages -”

“- you can easily learn their ancient bases.”, Roy interrupts, fascinated.

“Exactly. Sign Language was like learning the other modern languages. Same pattern of learning, but less grammar.”, Ed agrees.

Roy just nods. There’s silence for a few minutes, but it isn’t uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. He thinks he could spend hours like this with the man across from him. He can’t remember ever being this comfortable around another person. Except maybe Maes.

After about 5 minutes, Edward gets up. Roy thinks he will leave to make lunch for his brother and then head out to the hospital, but he doesn’t. Instead he walks to the kitchen and looks through the fridge.

As if sensing his question, which he probably does, if he remembers how _qi_ works correctly, Ed says: “I’ve taken the day off from the hospital. Mondays always depress me and I thought I should take a break for once too.”

“What about Alphonse?”, Roy asks. He’s delighted that Ed decided to keep Roy company instead of making his brother his routine lunch, but he feels a little bit bad for taking away from the brothers' limited time together.

Ed smiles in a way he’s never seen before. It’s so full of love, Roy’s almost jealous. He’s about to ask when his question gets answered anyway: “He has a date. One of the nurses who came from Xing. Her name’s May. She has quite the temper, but she’s very talented. She’s studying to become a doctor in addition to her Alchehestry. Al’s been pining over her for _months_.”

Closing the fridge door with a sigh, Edward adds: “I’m not _terribly_ surprised that your fridge is emptier than mine, but I’m getting hungry. I was going to repay the favor of cooking for us, but, well, maybe next time.”

Roy smiles and says: “Nonsense. We’ll just get takeout. My treat. I still owe you a meal for saving Maes, after all.”


	2. Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed and Roy talk about the allure of knowledge and some other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit sappy.  
> I will be uploading the next chapter soon, I think.  
> Writing it as we speak, but might not finish it today.
> 
> This is unbeta'd so point out any and all mistakes!
> 
> Btw. the T rating is because of talk about severed limbs and stuff relating to Ed's job at the hospital. It's not graphic or anything, but I think I need to rate it anyway. No idea yet if this will develop into something requiring a higher rating, but I guess we'll see.
> 
> Thanks again for all the positive feedback!

“Can you teach me?”, Roy says after they’ve finished eating the Aerugan takeout out of their respective boxes and migrated back to the couch.

“Teach you what, exactly?”, Ed replies. He has multiple PhDs and speaks eight languages. He could teach Roy a number of things, probably, starting with that Cretan Waterproofing Array that he’d like to keep secret for a little bit longer.

“I’m not sure. Anything, really.”, the older man responds after a short pause. This isn’t really a lot to go on, so Ed tries asking differently: “Well, what do you want to know?”

Roy looks at him for a few seconds, before saying: “Everything.”

\-- 

It occurs to Roy that perhaps that was an even more vague answer than his first one, but it was definitely the truth. Roy might be a politician more than an Alchemist now, at least in function, but he learned Alchemy because he wanted to know the secret to changing the unchangeable, fixing the unfixable, helping the otherwise lost causes. It ended up biting him in the ass, of course, with Ishval and all the wars going on, but the thirst for knowledge and skill to accompany it never left him.

Edward stares at him for a long time, or perhaps a short time, Roy can’t be sure. He finds himself quite lost in the gold of Ed’s eyes and the way they widened at his reply. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, for all Roy knows, before the young blonde starts laughing.

“What’s so funny?”, the General asks, hoping Ed doesn’t think he’s an idiot.

“It’s just, I could have sworn that I’ve said something similar to that to Teacher before. I’m actually a little bit surprised. Did you know, laughter usually follows surprise? It’s a natural response.”, Edward replies, getting a grip on himself and smiling lopsidedly. Roy finds he likes that look on the younger man.

Then the blonde continues: “As a General, you must be more of a politician than anything else. It caught me a bit off guard that you’d want to learn, well, _everything_. It shouldn’t have, really. You’re the Flame Alchemist, able to transmute at a molecular level. Of course you’d still want to learn more. I tend to forget who you are, sometimes.”

“Am I that forgettable?”, Roy asks, slightly offended. Ed laughs again, but doesn’t burst into a fit of giggles this time, and replies: “Of course not. I meant to the rest of the world. I met the man they believe you are when I was a child, but didn’t quite believe it then either. You just ignored the fact that we committed the taboo and told a little boy who had given up that he had a choice. I knew you weren’t just the army’s dog then.

But then, a few months ago, I met the man Mr. Hughes knows. The person he values most in this world, right up there with his family. To me, you’re the man sitting at his best friend’s bedside looking at him like he’s the only thing that truly matters. The idiot who risked getting shot by his second in command to spend the entire day watching somebody he barely knows work, just so he can spend time with them. The person who ate a buffet dry with me and has his own library even though he never gets time to read. Not ‘ _General Mustang_ ’ or ‘ _The Flame Alchemist_ ’ and certainly not ‘ _The Hero of Ishval_ ’. Just Roy, who cares more for the people around him than is technically wise.”

Roy might fall apart. This is high praise from the man who works at a hospital in his spare time just because he wants to help, and then gets slightly offended when they try to pay him.

Ed must be on a roll because before Roy can reply, the blonde continues: “I was also laughing because of the Truth. When you perform human transmutation, you open the Gate. It fills your head with the knowledge of quite literally _everything_ , which you obviously can’t process, so you forget nearly all of it by the time you get thrown out of it unceremoniously, missing something of yourself. I wanted to know everything, too. Teacher laughed at me just like I just laughed at you, when I told her that. I didn’t know that she’d seen it too, before I saw The Truth myself. She told me to be careful what you wish for.”

Ed isn’t smiling anymore and Roy doesn’t like that at all. So he takes the blonde’s hand and says: “I’ll learn the old fashioned way.”

The younger man looks slightly startled at the touch, but doesn’t pull away, which the General thinks is a good sign. Then he smiles slightly, just one side of his mouth tilting up, and says: “Alright, then. Where do you want to start?”

\--

Ed had expected ‘ _Cretan Waterproofing Array_ ’ as a reply, but is surprised again: “I want to know about you. Other than the fact that you have more PhD’s and know more languages than should be possible for a person your age, I don’t really know anything about you.”

“There’s not much to tell. My favorite person is my brother, my favorite color is red, my favorite food is everything that doesn’t have milk in it, except for stew, my favorite Alchemy is Water Alchemy, but I kind of love all of it. Everything else you already know. What about you?”, Ed replies.

Roy seems to think about that for a while and says: “My favorite person is Maes, which you know, my favorite color is gold, now -” – Ed blushes – “- my favorite food is also everything, my favorite Alchemy used to be Fire Alchemy, obviously, but now I hate it in equal measure. Otherwise there isn’t all that much to tell either. Except for one thing, maybe. My parents died when I was very young – I can’t even remember what they looked like – and my aunt adopted me. She runs an intelligence network disguised as a brothel.”

Edward startles at that. “A brothel? You grew up in a brothel? Oh my God, that explains so much.”, he says, laughing.

Roy frowns and asks: “How so?”

“The way you charm your way out of every unpleasant situation, flirt with everything that has legs, or, well, at least _one_ , even if you aren’t interested, and how you got your playboy reputation. It’s how you get all your information, isn’t it? Take one of your aunt’s girls out to dinner, get your intel and go home to your library.”, Ed replies, laughing at Mustang’s surprised expression.

“I think the only people who’ve figured that out at any point are Riza and Maes. And it took them forever.”, Roy tells him.

“It’s really kind of obvious once you relax and stop acting. The person we know doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who enjoys boring conversation and a quickie with a stranger. The only reason you’re single, is that you have no time and really high standards when it comes to people you actually want to spend time with.”

The General laughs and says: “You’re probably right.”


	3. We'll Find A Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed tells Roy about his classes and thinks about how on earth he's supposed to juggle his jobs, studying and dating at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! It's been a really busy week (my fav. subject had the exam a few days ago and I really wanted to do well), so I haven't gotten around to writing anything whatsoever (sorry!).  
> Also the reason why this is so short. I usually wouldn't have ended the chapter there, but I thought you guys would prefer the first half of the chapter to getting no chapter at all, so here we are.
> 
> The rest will be uploaded whenever I get to writing it, which will probably be sometime this week (probably Wednesday, but I make no promises). I apologize - again - for the delays in all my works, I hope you aren't too cross with me!
> 
> This is unbeta'd, so point out any and all mistakes! Also, since this is not written yet, what would you like Ed to do to balance all this? I have a bit of an idea (which is hinted in this chapter), but I don't know if that will make enough time for Roy. So if you have suggestions, I'm always happy to read them!

They have stopped talking for a bit, but once again it isn’t in any way awkward. By now Roy has realized that Ed spends a lot of time staring into space with a look of intense concentration on his face. A look the General finds extremely adorable, though Ed will never hear him say that. He would be able to recall that expression anytime, Roy believes. The blonde’s brows furrow slightly and he frowns while his eyes narrow slightly. Sometimes he tilts his head to one side and on one memorable occasion he started playing with his hair and holding it over his mouth.

The Flame Alchemist watches Ed do exactly that before saying: “What are you thinking?”

The blonde startles as if he had forgotten that Roy was even in the room before replying: “How to determine if my students remembered anything whatsoever once break is over. And how to get my new students excited about the course while making sure they listen and study properly before trying any transmutations next year. I don’t want anyone destroying my classroom. Again.”

Laughing at Ed’s expression of deepest disappointment, Roy asks: “ _Again_?”

The blonde’s scowl deepens when he says: “Some idiots didn’t study and decided to wing it at the exam last year. Thankfully basic Modern Alchemy is a prerequisite for Foreign Alchemy, so there are never any rebounds. Nobody’s stupid enough to try an unbalanced circle. I also always check their circles before they transmute, just in case, but nobody’s ever forgotten anything essential.”

“What do your exams usually look like?”, Roy asks. Perhaps it will help with preparation for the second year.

“We’ve covered all the basic Foreign Alchemy types so they get an exam at the end where I make them draw certain arrays from memory and label everything about it and then transmute something of their choosing from memory. Those transmutations can be of any kind, except for Xingan because you need to learn _qi_ – sensing first, and that’s not required in this course. Just knowing it exists and what it’s used for, but not actually performing it. Alchehestry is its own course, since it takes years to master.”, Ed retorts, his scowl slowly turning back to thoughtful instead of disappointed.

“I just worry they will have forgotten everything from the first year and I’ll have to repeat everything once we go deeper into all the aspects.”, the younger man adds after a pause.

Roy thinks about this for a second before saying: “I’m pretty sure all your students know that they have to study up on their previous work for the new year. This isn’t your first year. You have taught a class that graduated this year, right? Maes said something like that anyway. Which means that all your current students will probably go running to the upper years asking what you expected of them. As for your new students: They know what to expect from you, no doubt they’ve heard of you by now. But you can always encourage them by showing off.”

Roy adds: “In fact, I believe the military needs a reminder that they’re not all powerful anymore and that some Alchemists don’t need State Certification to be great.”

“What do you mean?”, Ed asks, looking suspicious, but excited.

The General grins and replies: “Dr. Elric, how would you like to have a duel?”

\-----

Roy went off to call Mr. Hughes to ask him to come over to have dinner and scheme over the duel the General had proposed. And to bring over the ingredients for said dinner because the Flame Alchemist’s fridge is still empty.

In the meantime, Ed thinks about his future. He has been doing this a lot lately. He will be done with his fifth and sixth PhD within the next few months and then he will probably let his academics rest for a bit, which means he doesn’t have to teach anymore. He will do his MD next year, since that’s just a small step he feels he needs to take, but doesn’t really keep him from doing anything.

But Ed finds he enjoys teaching. He enjoys it more than he does learning, and he absolutely _loves_ learning everything he possibly can. He enjoys it more than his time in the hospital, since he doesn’t have to stare death in the face all the time. The only thing Ed enjoys more than teaching, is spending time with Roy. Comfortable silence and heated discussions, awful flirting on his part and Roy’s laughter in the face of it.

Ed has too little time and too much to do. He has to give something up. Saving people, teaching, learning or Roy. He has done fine this far, with only three of those things, but now a forth has appeared and he has to make room. He’ll have to talk it over with Al. The only realistic option he’s come up with this far, is cut down on the shifts in the hospital and hope that Xingan girl can take up his slack and not do his MD for now.

He’s forcefully reminded again why he hasn’t tried dating anyone in a while. There are simply never enough hours left in the day and nobody wants to put up with a partner who never has time for them. None of them ever understood Ed’s need to learn as much as he possibly can, or preference of teaching a bunch of idiots instead of going on boring dates.

Roy would, though. He’s an Alchemist, a General in the military and a kind person. He desperately wants to learn and protect and knows the sacrifices a person makes for their own values.

Ed’s still musing when Roy comes back, still grinning, and says: “He’ll be here in half an hour. And he’s bringing Al.”


	4. Pasta and Scheming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphonse and Maes join Ed and Roy for dinner to scheme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got this done faster than expected.
> 
> Looks like this series will be way more detailed and much longer than I was intending. 
> 
> I have decided to just make this AU: Ed and Al didn't join the military, the Promised Day is just a few years later than in canon (Or Ed and Al are just born a few years earlier, doesn't really matter in this case), and Hughes and Mustang have been trying to figure out exactly what is happening.  
> In consequence: Bradley is still Fuhrer, the Homunculi are still around, and Hohenheim is still alive. Scar is still roaming around somewhere, but his priest managed to convince him not to act out of vengeance.   
> They found out about Nina and her dad when she kept calling him Daddy.  
> They gave Roy the promotion to keep him in check and because it will be easier to figure out if he's a candidate.  
> The senior staff hold meetings without him with Father, to be on the safe side because they don't know where he stands.
> 
> This is unbeta'd so feel free to point out any mistakes!

Half an hour later, the door opens to reveal Alphonse and Maes standing on Roy’s doorstep with eerily similar grins and each holding a bag of groceries.

“Excellent! What are we making?”, the General asks them. Alphonse replies: “Pasta. Original Aerugan recipe brother and I got when we visited there. Nothing against Amestrian noodles, but the original is just _so_ much better.”

“Al? What happened to your date?”, Ed says once he’s made his way over to them.

“May and I went to that amusement park earlier. She felt bad for depriving the hospital of all their Alchehestrists, so she opted to go in today. We’ll have dinner some other time. I’ve already taken the entire day off, so I’m not going to go in. You know they don’t need me Monday’s. I decided to go visit the Hughes’, since home would be empty, and the General called. I thought, since you’re scheming something, I should be here.”, Al replies, a scary glint in his eye.

It occurs to Roy that those two meeting was a very bad idea. If Riza joins them, they’ll all be doomed.

 

The Elric brothers are in the kitchen, bickering over the correct way to cook the pasta (‘ _no, brother, oil doesn’t go in the water and the salt goes in when it’s nearly boiling_ ’ ‘ _Al, the oil thing might be true if you mix the sauce directly with the noodles as soon as they’re done, but weren’t we gonna have everybody take their own portion?_ ’ ‘ _But it’s much more practical to mix it beforehand! And tastier!_ ’ ‘ _Fine. I still think the salt thing is negligible._ ’ ‘ _Whatever, brother._ ’), while Maes and Roy – after an argument that they should be helping and being shooed out of the kitchen by the blondes – sit on the couch in the living room.

“So, enjoying sick leave?”, Maes asks, smirking evilly. Roy doesn’t take the bait.

“It’s a little bit unnecessary, since I feel perfectly fine, but I’m not going to deny it’s been fun so far. Ed knows a lot. He’s been trying to explain the differences in Alchemy to me.”, he replies, smiling honestly. Hughes probably didn’t expect such a straight forward answer from his best friend, because he looks slightly surprised.

“Don’t look at me like that, Maes. I spent the entire day with Ed and he does _not_ appreciate roundabout answers. I don’t have the energy to try to put a stop to your matchmaking. Besides – and I will only say this once – you were right this time. This time it might work. He doesn’t expect me to be there every second of every day. We also spent half the day today in comfortable silence.”, Roy tells his best friend after he raises an eyebrow at him.

“You really like this one, don’t you.”, Maes asks him, and it’s not a question.

Roy smiles and says: “I really do. He told me he keeps forgetting who I am. As in he can’t think of me as anything other than the person who sat as his best friend’s hospital bed, silently begging him to wake up. Among other things. He saw through me within seconds. It’s scary, but it’s nice.”

\-----

The pasta is fantastic. Maes hadn’t believed Alphonse when he said that you never truly know how good pasta can be until you eat the Aerugan version. The sauce is very plain, just tomato sauce with some spices, and the noodles aren’t the mush the military serves. Apparently the consistency is called ‘ _al dente’_. And yet, this is so much better than any pasta he’s ever eaten.

“I think you’ve ruined Amestrian pasta for me. I never loved it, but now I think I might not even tolerate it.”, Roy says once every last bite is gone.

Maes thought the Elrics had made way too much, but he hadn’t factored in that the only person who eats normal amounts is Maes himself. The other three had gobbled up at least three obscenely large portions and didn’t look like they were nearly as full as he was.

“I apologize, General. But we can give you the recipe, if you’d like. It’s really not that difficult. Just cook the noodles for a shorter time and use the correct spices.”, Alphonse responds.

“Please call me Roy, Alphonse. It feels strange to be called _General_ by somebody who insists on being called by their first name instead of their hard earned title.”, said General says, to which Maes adds: “Don’t bother, Roy. I’ve been trying to get them to call me Maes for months. The only reason Ed calls you Roy is because you’re dating.”

He expected both of the men in question to start denying this, but Ed just shrugs and Roy smiles.

“You’re no fun. I wanted explosive denial.”, Maes tells them, scowling. He looks over at Alphonse for help, but he’s staring at Ed with one raised eyebrow.

“No point, it’s true.”, the older Elric says, looking uncharacteristically relaxed.

“We should start scheming. If I can’t rile you two up, it will have to be the military.”, Maes says, earning smirks from every man at the table.

\-----

“Okay, so how do we do this?”, Ed asks.

“It has to be sanctioned, of course. We could make it some sort of tournament with the other Combat State Alchemists?”, the General replies, looking at Mr. Hughes.

“That could work. But how do we convince anyone to let Ed participate? He isn’t Certified. It won’t go through. And if they believe that Ed’s as good or better than any of you they won’t let it through either, in fear of embarrassing themselves.”, the only non-Alchemist replies.

“How about an open tournament? Any Alchemist can partake, and the winner gets to participate in the State Alchemist duel. The military won’t know to expect anyone to be better than any of their Alchemists, but they won’t stop the tournament once it’s started. They’ll think it’s a good way to boost morale amongst the State Alchemists – make them think they’re still the best – and give the military the feeling they have power.”, Alphonse says.

“The Fuhrer might think it’s funny. You know Bradley. He enjoys a good fight.”, Mustang adds.

“It’s settled then. We could suggest it as a reevaluation for all the certified Alchemists and pitch in a promotion for the winner. And if the winner is not certified, a recommendation for the State Alchemist Program. You know they’ve been looking to recruit more people.”, Mr. Hughes says, silently communicating with the General, making Ed frown at them.

“Why do they want more people? There’s something you’re not telling us.”, Edward asks.

Both military men look at him with startled expressions, before the General says: “It’s confidential. It’s the reason Maes got shot. I can’t really tell you anything without making you targets. I was hoping to keep you out of it.”

Both Elric brother’s scoff, before Ed says: “You do realize that both of us are better at hand-to-hand combat than any of you and have a wider range of Alchemy at our disposal, right? Mr. Hughes is the person with the biggest risk.”

Alphonse frowns at Ed’s rudeness, but silently agrees with the assessment. The military doesn’t value hand-to-hand, because they have guns, even though stabbing somebody is faster than shooting somebody, if you’re really good.

Mr. Hughes looks at them skeptically and says: “I know Ed’s good. PhD in Foreign Alchemy and Combat Alchemy nearly done. But Alphonse, you’re a doctor.”

Ed laughs until he has tears in his eyes, making both older men look at him in concern, while Alphonse just snicker and says: “Ed might have the PhD’s to show for it, and he _is_ better at Foreign Alchemy, but I’ve learned them too. I simply decided I’d rather do my MD first. Combat Alchemy is brother’s pet project, since it’s just normal Alchemy used in combination with Martial Arts.”

Edward seems to have gotten himself more or less under control and adds: “I’ve never beaten him in a fight.”

“I’d like to see that.”, Mustang says, looking between the blond men.

Ed smiles at the General honestly and Al can’t help but smile too. He hasn’t seen his brother this happy since he and Winry didn’t work out. Now that he thinks about it, Ed wasn’t even this happy back then. Which is to be expected, those two were too different in many ways.

“Some other time, maybe. No need to alarm the neighbors.”, Alphonse says, remembering that time somebody called the police when they were sparring at a park.

“Or maybe you’ll have to wait and see at the tournament we’re supposed to be planning.”, Ed adds.

Looking slightly disappointed, the General tears his eyes away from Ed’s and says: “Right. I can bring it up at the next General’s meeting. That’s this Friday. Once I have the all clear, Maes can find a way to let the public know. Ed, maybe tell your students somehow what’s going on. Alphonse, why don’t you and some friends from the hospital stand by, just in case?”

Al considers this and says: “Sure thing. Well, if that’s all for today, I think I’ll go check up on things at the hospital. May’s not used to the Monday Drop Off, so I think I’ll go see if I can’t relieve her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you don't mind that I'm expanding this to a really long, detailed thing! Really wasn't planning on it, but a plot just kind of formed in my head as I was writing this and it's been bugging me that the whole story doesn't make sense to me as in what about the Promised Day etc. This was meant to be a one shot (Are You Kidding Me was the first one), so yeah, I blame you guys for getting me excited about making a series out of this. Shame on you xD


	5. Tell Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day is coming to a close, so Ed and Roy settle down in front of the fire with a glass of whiskey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done! Well.. This piece at least. Rest assured, there will be more, but it will be its own piece.  
> The plot thickens! From here on out it will be duels and plotting and (don't worry) RoyEd growing ever closer *winks*  
> I hope you've enjoyed the whole series so far!
> 
> This is unbeta'd (but from now on most of the stuff probably will be), so point out any mistakes you see!
> 
> Love you all!

When Alphonse and Maes left, the younger man had spoken to Ed for a few seconds before walking away. That in itself wasn’t suspicious, but the expression on the younger Elric’s face reminded him of Hughes in an unpleasant way.

Now Edward is sitting on the couch in front of the fire, staring blankly into space again, holding a tumbler of Roy’s favorite Whiskey. The older man wants to ask what Al had said, but can’t bring himself to interrupt Ed’s thoughts. The young blonde is sitting at a perfect angle for the light of the fire to flicker over his features, putting them in stark contrast – highlighting all of the sharp angles Roy had so admired when he had met him for that ball – and making the young man’s eyes and hair glow as if he was a creature born from fire.

After Ed hadn’t so much as nipped at the drink in his hand for half an hour, Roy shook himself. This isn’t a time to be admiring Ed’s – admittedly exquisite – face. Or maybe it is, but the General is curious as to what Alphonse said to put Edward in such a contemplative state.

“What are you thinking?”, Roy says, making Ed startle slightly.

“Sorry, I zoned out again. I do that a lot, apparently. It was one of the things that pissed the _hell_ out of Winry.”, the blonde replies, smiling sadly.

Roy doesn’t quite know why Ed suddenly looks so guilt-ridden, so he asks: “It doesn’t anymore?”

Ed laughs and says: “I’m sure it does, but not nearly to the extent it used to when we were dating.”

The General was in the middle of sipping his drink and now nearly chokes on it. Once he’s stopped coughing he asks: “ _Dating_?”

Edward smiles sadly again before saying: “Yeah. We dated for a few years, actually. It was the _perfect_ love story. Childhood friends growing closer until they inevitably fall in love, marry and have _darling_ little children. And I really _did_ love her, I still do, but not the way I used to.”

Roy would grudgingly agree that that sounds like one of those perfect love stories Maes would bring up whenever the General was refusing to even try courting Riza. It’s probably the reason he asks: “What happened?”

Ed looks surprised at the question. Which is to expected, really, most people don’t want to know about the one that got away on the first proper date. He answers anyway: “We didn’t fit. Not in the ways that mattered, at least. We were both extremely passionate about our own respective fields, but had very little interest in the other’s. I wanted to travel the world and learn everything I could. I wanted knowledge, freedom and spent every waking moment working on something or somewhere. She wanted a happy, normal life in our hometown. She wanted me to be by her side every moment of every day. The few times I was actually there I spent with my nose in a book or staring into space, running calculations in my head and not reacting when someone tried talking to me. I got better at that, by the way. At least I notice people talking to me most of the time.”

The young man smiles self-deprecatingly before continuing: “When we actually managed to talk to each other we usually ended up yelling. I loved her so much for her passion, _com_ passion and intelligence, but love just isn’t enough sometimes. So we loved each other very much, trying to do what would make the other happy and just got unhappier in the process. It took years until we called it quits, hoping we could work it out for the sake of love and that childhood fantasy of the perfect love story. We knew within months of starting to date each other that it couldn’t possibly last – the way we were handling it, at least – but it took us a good three years to actually do anything about it. But no need to worry about that now. It’s been two years, we’ve both moved on and she’s still my best friend. From what I know, she’s _incredibly_ happy with some girl she met in Rush Valley.”

Roy isn’t sure if he’s glad he asked or not, so decides to change the subject: “What did Alphonse say to you when he left?”

Ed smiles honestly and replies: “Two things: That I seem much happier than I ever did with Win, so kudos to you for that, and not to let you get away with not telling us what the big conspiracy is.”

The General sighs. He was hoping they would have let the scheming of the duel take their minds off the whole Bradley thing, but should have known better. Nobody has that many PhDs without knowing how to remember multiple things at once.

He clearly can’t get out of explaining because Ed raises an eyebrow at him, so Roy relents and says: “It’s _really_ complicated and we haven’t been able to figure out what _exactly_ is going on. I can tell you both everything we know some other time. We’ll have to go to a safer location, though. I’m sure this house isn’t bugged, but I’m not taking any chances. Everything I’ve said so far isn’t anything they wouldn’t already expect me to know and I doubt they’re able to listen in to anything I say here, but I want to be on the safe side. I’ll write down an address for you later, alright?”

Ed doesn’t look particularly happy about the whole situation, but must recognize the importance of discreetness because he just nods.

Roy grins and says: “Now to something more cheerful. Can you teach me some useful phrases in every language you know?”

The blonde laughs and replies: “Sure, Roy. Some insults too?”, earning a laugh out of the General, who responds: “ _Especially_ insults.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next piece will probably be the duel. It will probably take a while, since it will be harder to write (action scenes are not my expertise, I'm really only good at massive amounts of angst and fluff), so I hope you'll forgive the pause in updating that will most likely happen.   
> Should I find some time to write, I might write something short for in between, or work on, you know, that other thing I'm writing, since I'm nowhere near finished with that either.
> 
> PS: I know this is really short and nobody really cares about Winry, but this is my head-canon, and I feel like this should explain Ed's reluctance to consider dating anyone since her, and also I feel like 20-year old Ed will have had some dalliances over the years, so this is the one I went with. Yeah, so I hope noone is mad about the anticlimactic ending of this piece. I promise the rest will be more exciting!


End file.
